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Well, it only took them 20 years, but the media has finally figured out that so called “assault weapons” bans are merely a law that controls the cosmetic looks of a firearm.

A report by NBC4 New York takes a look at the differences between the AR-15 rifle pre SAFE Act and post SAFE Act. Of course, as we’ve known ever since the Clinton era federal ban, the changes are mainly cosmetic, and to a smaller degree ergonomic.

However, gun control advocates say that banning certain cosmetic features matter. From NBC4,

Yet gun control advocates say a less comfortable rifle is also a less deadly weapon.

“The legal gun looks a lot like the illegal gun,” said Leah Gunn Barrett, the executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. “Does that make this law essentially cosmetic? No. These features all have specific functions.”

For example, Gunn Barrett said a forward-leaning pistol grip might give a mass shooter better control over his rifle.

“The gun is still lethal,” Gunn Barrett said. “Yes, it can still kill people. But it is not as easy to manipulate and fire accurately than it would be if you had a forward-leaning pistol grip.”

OK. Two things about those quotes. First, who else finds it amusing that the leader of an anti-gun group has the last name Gunn Barrett?

Second, what in the hell is a forward leaning pistol grip? Is that like a “shoulder thing that goes up”?